AminanimA EP

The Worker's Institute;
2005

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If you've seen Sigur Rós live or heard their albums over the last few
years, you're familiar with Amina. Acting as ancillary members, the female quartet's
instrumental accompaniment is partially responsible for the overwhelming
power of \xC1gaetis Byrjun, ( ), and Takk..., and they
help their fellow Icelanders' translate such pointed grandiosity in
concert. Whether fraying bows in the midst of escalating string
frenzies or tapping on xylophones while scurrying around in
the shadows, the foursome's contributions are undoubtedly
"background" but also quite necessary. Take away Sigur Rós' stereotypically male audacity--
the Eden-again vox and apocalypse crescendos-- and you're left with the sinewy foundations from which
such crushing melodrama arises; you're left with Amina.
Stripped of overstatement, this precious four-song debut EP from the new
L.A.-based Worker's Institute label fits into the Múm-ified
notion of modern Icelandic pop while offering some subtle shading
and shaping of that notion.

All multi-instrumentalists, these four classically trained players tap
into a sense of uncanny solace by way of precise phrasing and
repetition throughout AminanimA. Utilizing traditional strings
as well as a treasure trove of other stately-sounding tools including
glockenspiels, bells and a glassophone, the group conjures clear-eyed
sonic pastures that reward subtlety and reject crass adornment.
"Skakka" is a soundtrack to a fairytale, but one that's decidedly
Grimm; a crackling fire can be heard in the distance and
Rumpelstiltskin's warped ramblings are almost palpable somewhere
within the track's unsettling ambience. Melodies and countermelodies
courtesy of several sprightly instruments cross over each other on
"Hemipode," which also features cooing vocals that only enhance its
courteous gait. "Fjarskanistan" is the EP's most obvious Sigur Rós-lite
moment with its longer running time and painstaking build from echoing
chimes to echoing chimes-with-sweeping strings, but it's still more
muted than their pals' most subdued dramatics.

There's an intrinsic beauty that courses through Amina's music and
this introduction release enticingly summarizes it. AminanimA's cautious
atmospherics can sound toothlessly pleasant at points, yet the group
largely escape such Enya-isms by lacing these tracks with an
entrenched emotional resonance and haunting austerity that whispers
and creeps. Working within a gauzy
milieu and largely without the directness of a human voice, the
quartet manage to sidestep crass whimsy and create pinhole worlds ripe with modest mystery.